HCMC to set up official databases for use by public, investors

Ho Chi Minh City plans to become a smart city by November, with major data made available to the public. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

HCMC will make data on inspections, projects, schools, health facilities, and land administration publicly available as it pursues smart city vision.

Speaking at a conference on becoming a smart city on Sunday, the city Party Secretary, Nguyen Thien Nhan, called on the Department of Information and Communications to soon provide the addresses of its data centers to the public.

He insisted that HCMC's smart city plan be a reality by November, with conclusions of all government inspections since 2016 be uploaded onto the common database for the public and the media to monitor.

Nhan also asked for data sought by investors to be uploaded, such as on ongoing projects, schools, medical facilities, and cadastre and other land-related information.

City Chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong said that a number of government departments and state-owned companies have failed to cooperate and refused to add their data to the common database. While not identifying them by name, he warned that this behavior is unacceptable and should not occur again.

Duong Anh Duc, director of the Department of Information and Communications, said a city database is available at Quang Trung Software Park in District 12 and was created by combining data from the Departments of Planning and Investment, Tax, Health, Natural Resources and Environment, and Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.

Important databases integrated into the Quang Trung database include those on electronic public service delivery, denunciation, hotline numbers, business registration, foreign investment, taxpayers, foreign workers, and land. The city has started extracting and using data from the common database for administrative tasks.

At the command and operation center for the planned smart city, HCMC has trialed integration of data from the security cameras belonging to the Department of Transport and the administrative People's Committees of Districts 1, 12, Phu Nhuan, and Go Vap.

"Over 1,000 cameras have been integrated into the operating center, and enhanced data analysis can be performed simultaneously on 50, including face recognition, vehicle identification, detection of crowds and traffic, security, and law and order incidents," Duc said.

As for the planned Center for Socio-Economic Simulation and Forecasting, the city has completed the system of methodologies to serve as scientific and empirical basis for researches and advisories on socio-economic forecasting.

The establishment of a company to operate the Center for Information Safety has also been approved by the city authorities.

Duc said the establishment of a smart city is a continuous and open process, requiring the cooperation of public and private resources, and so the city hopes to continue to receive comments and contributions from the public and businesses.